Modjeska Theatre
1134 Historic W. Mitchell Street,
Milwaukee,
WI
53204
1134 Historic W. Mitchell Street,
Milwaukee,
WI
53204
4 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 55 comments found
A few photos from September 2012 are here: link
There is still a notice in the window on how to contribute to its restoration. Hopefully it will be preserved.
Sounds like this theater’s days are numbered, sadly.
The theater is closed. Some friends of mine had been doing volunteer work last year on the electrical systems but finally gave up because of lack of financial support.
I believe this theater is closed now. The link to the official website seems to come up with a bunch of characters that look like Chinese letters. Anyone know for sure?
Strange photo posted May 5th by Chuck,
I posted someting along those lines on May 3 – see above.
There was a recent (early May) story in the Milwaukee Sentinel that the Modjeska is now closed. The youth group that had been operating it at a deficit had to close it’s doors. Maybe someone can post the link.
2010 B&W photo of the Modjeska Theatre.
View link
This theater has hit a bump in the road financially as the youth theater that was its principal tenant has folded. Community leaders are rallying to preserve the theater’s future; story here: View link
I think our MODJESKA in Augusta looks a bit better.
The Modjeska Theatre in Augusta is currently closed.It had been turned into a nightspot and it is used for private parties. It is on CT if anyone wants to read about it. Its History is much like theone here.
I’ve also posted a recent photo of the Modjeska Theater.
This is a recent photo of the Modjeska Theater.
Here is a new website for the Modjeska.
I have added history of the MODJESKA in Augusta.For you info.
1980 Photo
1983 Photo
Recent photos of this theatre are HERE
A Barton theater organ size 3/10 was installed in the Modjeska Theater in 1924.
Milwaukee’s Common Council’s Development Committee today recommended approval of a 3.1 million dollar proposal for improving some key landmarks, including the Modjeska Theater, on Mitchell Street.
I grew up on 12th and Scott, born in 1954.I remember going to see a 2 or 3 movie matinee on Sunday afternoons for a quarter. Kids were seated on the floor in front of the first row and up the aisles. Apparently there were no capacity rules. Also being bombarded
with candy from the balcony. We would exit into the alley.The daylight was blinding. Schlitz brewery, where my father worked, also had there Christmas party there. We were all given a huge mesh stocking, packed with toys and candy after the show.Very fond, distant memories!!
The city of Milwaukee is looking to restore the MODJESKA THEATRE (Rapp & Rapp) and West Mitchell Street itself to its historic grandeur with a proposed $3.1 million tax incremental financing district. “It’s like a step forward into the past; Mitchell Street has a history of being a thriving commercial corridor,†said Joel Brennan, assistant executive director and secretary of Milwaukee’s redevelopment authority. The TIF district (PDF) would stretch from South Fifth to South 16th streets and cover all properties one block north and south of Mitchell Street. It would also include a commercial stretch of West Forest Home Avenue between South 13th and South 15th streets. The TIF money would be split in half into two separate funds â€" one for commercial projects and a second for infrastructure. A development fund totaling $1.5 million would give grants or loans to retail projects on Mitchell Street to help pay for work like restoring historic stone building facades. “Those are certainly the types of funds to help make projects pop in the corridor that otherwise might be financially unfeasible,†Brennan said. Brennan and the TIF plan pointed to three projects as likely recipients of that money â€"redeveloping the Goldmann’s department store, restoring the Modjeska Theater and fixing up the Walgreens building at 1101 W. Mitchell. Any funding for those projects would require separate redevelopment authority and Common Council approval after the TIF district is created.
The Modjeska Theater’s owners â€" Mitchell Street Development Opportunities Corp. and nonprofit Modjeska Theater Co. â€" are facing renovation costs ranging from $7.5 million to $8.9 million. The improvements would include restoring the building’s exterior masonry, new theater seating and sound systems, and upgrading its heating, cooling, plumbing, fire protection and electrical systems. The owners plan to continue to use the restored building for theater productions but also hope to attract meetings and conventions.
To create a TIF district, the city borrows money to pay for projects and then repays its debt using any increases in property taxes within the district. The city estimated the Mitchell Street TIF district would repay its $3.1 million in debt by 2025.
This is a modern photo (2002) of the Modjeska Theater and here is a close-up photo.
I’m 29 years old and I grew up in milwaukee and I saw my first “scary” movie on the big screen at the modjeska which was Children Of The Corn
I just got an inquiry concerning the Modjeska from a woman working with the Mitchell Street Development Opportunities Corp, in conjunction with the “Modjesks Theater Company” regarding raising funds to purchase the theater as well as listing it on the National Register of Historic Places. It is nice to see interest in this lesser Rapp & Rapp design.
Thanks Jim….I did find a website with some history of the Modjeska Theater in Georgia. That theater was also named after Helena Modjeska. Another similarity, there were two Modjeska Theaters in Georgia. The first one burned down in 1916 and a replacement Modjeska Theater was built.
“The Modjeska Theatre served as a venue for vaudeville performances, operas, and ballets for many decades and would later take on the role of showing films”.
So, it was a movie theater at one time. I’ll have to write this one up when I get a chance. I wonder if there were anymore Modjeska Theaters.